Election manifesto

Election manifesto is a name given to a document that is published by political parties during elections containing declaration of their ideology, intentions, promises, views, policies and programmes. These are generally drafted by the Political Parties keeping an eye on forthcoming elections and are generally published and well publicized during election campaigns.

It serves as a reference document or benchmark for the public at large for what a political party stands for. By comparing the ideologies, policies and programmes of the political parties, the electors can decide which party they should vote for to meet their expectations and aspirations.

Issuing manifestos is increasingly common around the world. Manifestos normally indicate broad policy/programmes of a political party/candidate on political, economic and social matters.

In the United States, the nature of political party platforms is policy based, generally covering economic policy, foreign policy, healthcare, governance reform, environmental issues, immigration, etc. These do not offer specific benefits, but outline plans and policies that would benefit large groups of population.

In many West European countries, manifestos tend to mention more concrete policy choices as well as their budgetary implications. Sometimes, parties add financial paragraphs to their manifestos, which may be submitted to a Court of Audit (if it exists), which calculates how realistic each manifesto is.

In Bhutan, political parties are required to submit a copy of their election manifesto to the Election Commission, before primary round of National Assembly elections. Manifestos are issued to the public only with the approval of the Election Commission. Content is largely policies and development plans and programmes which a party will implement, if elected. Election Commission thoroughly vets the election manifestos, and filters out issues with potential to undermine the security and stability of the nation. Further, manifestos cannot contain anything that seeks electoral gains by campaigning on the ground of religion, ethnicity, region, prerogatives of the King and the State, national identity etc.

In Mexico, to be eligible to nominate candidates for a Federal election, a party must submit an electoral platform for registration and validation by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE). The platform essentially contains principles/proposals which the party would uphold on three broad issues: politics, economics and social. The contents must be in line with declaration of principles and programme of action that the party submitted with their application for legal registration. IFE verifies that the electoral platform is in line with the basic documents of the party. Certification of registration and validation of the platform is essential for nomination of candidates.

As regards content, there appears to be a thin line between policy pledges and promises of freebies aimed at vote buying. These need to be differentiated, while considering the matter.

Manifestoes are issued before the elections – the period ranging from three weeks (Bhutan) to two months (United States) to five months (Mexico) before election day.

Legal provisions/guidelines

In Bhutan and Mexico, Electoral Authorities have power to vet manifestos and get certain types of content removed (as above).

In the United Kingdom, the Electoral authority issues guidelines for campaign materials (which would apply to manifestos also).

In the United States (without a central EMB), the State-level EMB regulations generally do not include any provisions about political party platforms. It is the Party Committee which governs internally and develops the platform of a party for a particular election, as per the Charter and By-Laws of the party.

Most other democracies do not seem to have any legal provisions/guidelines specifically for manifestos, although in some countries (e.g. United Kingdom, the Netherlands) legal provisions applicable to offensive campaign material would seem to apply to content of manifestos as well.

Regulatory mechanisms

Regulatory mechanisms operate in Bhutan and Mexico, as above.
In the United Kingdom, the Electoral authority issues guidelines for campaign materials (which would apply to manifestos also), but does have no other role.

In major democracies such as the United States, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands and Austria, EMBs/Electoral Authorities have no role in relation to manifestos.

Nearby pages
Eleatics, Election to the President of India, Electra, Electra the daughter of Agamemnon, Electric Field, Electric Light